James MacMillan, one of today’s most successful living composers, is also internationally
active as a conductor, becoming Guest Conductor of the Netherlands Radio Chamber
Philharmonic in 2010. This second volume in a series of recordings from Challenge
Classics featuring MacMillan conducting his own music focuses mostly on choral
music. It includes the world premiere
recording of the antiphon O, as well as the Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis, all
sung by the Netherlands Radio Choir, and the substantial orchestral piece Tryst.

The disc opens with the premiere recording of MacMillan’s O, an antiphon for
choir, trumpet and strings, that incorporates a text in English (O Radiant Dawn)
used at vespers on 21 December during the last seven days of the season of Advent.
Magnificat was commissioned by the BBC for the first ‘Choral Evensong’ of the
new Millennium, at Wells Cathedral. The choral writing is simple and homophonic,
each phrase punctuated by an introspective instrumental echo. The Nunc Dimittis
was commissioned by Winchester Cathedral and is based on similar material. Some
of the climactic music from the Magnificat is recalled for the final Amen. Both
works exist in versions for choir and organ, and, as here, for choir and orchestra.

Separating O and the two other liturgical pieces is Tryst, commissioned by the
Scottish Chamber Orchestra and premiered by them in 1989. Its emotional core
is a simple melody which MacMillan had previously employed in his setting of
William Soutar’s love poem written in broad Scots, The Tryst, and which also
cropped up in several of his other compositions.

James MacMillan’s musical language is flooded with influences from his Scottish
heritage, Catholic faith, social conscience, and close connection with Celtic
folk music, blended with influences from Far Eastern, Scandinavian and Eastern
European music. MacMillan first became internationally recognised after the
extraordinary success of The Confession of Isobel Gowdie at the BBC Proms in
1990.

The first disc in the series (CC72540), released in July 2012, included two
works for percussion and orchestra, Veni, Veni, Emmanuel, and I (A Meditation
on Iona) and a piece for violin, ensemble and tape, A Deep But Dazzling Darkness.
The soloists were Colin Currie and Gordan Nikolic.